Luben Popov ( bg, Любен Попов; born 28 January 1936) is

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

International Master (IM) (1965), Bulgarian Chess Championship winner (1970),

European Team Chess Championship The European Team Championship (often abbreviated in texts and games databases as ''ETC'') is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9. This more ...

s individual medalist (1977, 1980), World Student Team Chess Championships winner (1959).

Biography

In the 1960s and 1970s Luben Popov was one of the leading Bulgarian chess players. In 1970, he won Bulgarian Chess Championship.Luben Popov won bronze medals four times in the Bulgarian Chess Championships (1959, 1962, 1963, 1971). Three times he participated in FIDE Zonal tournaments:

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

(1960), Enschede (1963),

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

(1979). Luben Popov was winner of many international chess tournament awards, including first place in

Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...

(1973),

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

(1973/74),

Albena Albena ( bg, Албена) is a major Black Sea resort in northeastern Bulgaria, Balchik Municipality, situated from Balchik and from Varna. Albena is served by Varna Airport. Since 2005 is considered as a settlement by the National Statist ...

(1977),

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(1981). In 1965, he was awarded the FIDE International Master (IM) title. Luben Popov played for Bulgaria in the

Chess Olympiad The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 and ...

s: * In 1962, at second reserve board in the

15th Chess Olympiad The 15th Chess Olympiad ( bg, 15-ата Шахматна олимпиада, ''15-ata Shahmatna olimpiada''), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and fe ...

in Varna (+1, =6, -1), * In 1964, at fourth board in the

16th Chess Olympiad The 16th Chess Olympiad ( he, אולימפיאדת השחמט ה-16, ''Olimpiada ha-shachmat ha-16''), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and fema ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

(+1, =5, -1), * In 1966, at second reserve board in the

17th Chess Olympiad The 17th Chess Olympiad ( es, La 17a Olimpíada de ajedrez), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. team tournament, as well as severa ...

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

(+5, =3, -0), * In 1970, at fourth board in the

19th Chess Olympiad The 19th Chess Olympiad (german: Die 19. Schacholympiade), comprising an open team tournament as well as the annual FIDE congress, took place between September 5–27, 1970, in Siegen, West Germany. The Soviet team with six Grandmasters, led ...

Siegen Siegen () is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg region. The university town (nearly 20,000 students in the 2018–2019 winter semeste ...

(+3, =6, -2), * In 1974, at fourth board in the

21st Chess Olympiad The 21st Chess Olympiad (french: La 21e Olympiade d'échecs), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. team tournament, as well as severa ...

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

(+7, =1, -3), * In 1980, at first reserve board in the

24th Chess Olympiad The 24th Chess Olympiad ( mt, L-24 Olimpijadi taċ-Ċess), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. and a women's tournament, as well as ...

La Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 was ...

(+2, =3, -1), * In 1982, at second reserve board in the

25th Chess Olympiad The 25th Chess Olympiad (german: Die 25. Schacholympiade), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. and a women's tournament, as well a ...

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label= Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital o ...

(+1, =2, -2). Luben Popov played for Bulgaria in the

s: * In 1970, at forth board in the 4th European Team Chess Championship in

Kapfenberg Kapfenberg , with around 22,609 inhabitants, is the third largest city in Styria, Austria, near Bruck an der Mur. The town's landmark is Burg Oberkapfenberg. Its main employer is the steel manufacturer Böhler. The town has a swimming complex, ...

(+2, =3, -2), * In 1977, at eighth board in the 6th European Team Chess Championship in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

(+2, =3, -2) and won individual bronze medal, * In 1980, at eighth board in the 7th European Team Chess Championship in

Skara Skara is a locality and the seat of Skara Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 18,580 inhabitants in 2013. Despite its small size, it is one of the oldest cities in Sweden, and has a long educational and ecclesiastical history. On ...

(+4, =2, -1) and won individual gold medal. Luben Popov played for Bulgaria in the World Student Team Chess Championships: * In 1958, at second reserve board in the 5th World Student Team Chess Championship in Varna (+1, =0, -2) and won team silver medal, * In 1959, at third board in the 6th World Student Team Chess Championship in

(+8, =4, -1) and won team gold medal, * In 1960, at third board in the 7th World Student Team Chess Championship in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

(+5, =5, -2).

References

External links

*
Luben Popov
chess games at 365chess.com 1936 births Sportspeople from Pazardzhik Bulgarian chess players Chess International Masters Chess Olympiad competitors Living people {{Bulgaria-bio-stub